Heirs
by Barbella43
Summary: When you're filthy rich, you get whatever you want... mostly. Delve into a world filled with love, deceit, and the cruel, cruel world of business.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. How's it going? I'm almost through with the next chapter of Listening with Your Feet, so get ready for that. I also watch this cool Korean show, and so I'm starting a fanfiction about it, but in Pokemon form. This story is titled the Heirs. The shippings covered here are Leafgreenshipping, Hoennshipping, a little Ash × Leaf (I don't know the name of the ship), and Ikarishipping. If any other ships are gonna pop up later, I'll say so in the author's note before the chapter. There MAY be lemon in this story, I'm not sure yet. Warning, characters may be a bit OOC. I'm just going to clear up the ages right here and now.**

 **May – 18**

 **Brendan – 18**

 **Leaf – 18**

 **Gary – 18**

 **Ash - 18**

 **Paul – 20**

 **Dawn – 20**

 **Carly – OC**

 **Let's get started. Oh, and words written in Spanish (I'm making that the nationality of them all) will be translated at the end of the chapter. Or right there.)**

 **Gary**

I sped through the ocean, my feet not once leaving the surfboard as my friends played around me. Sometimes I wished my life were as easy as theirs.

As I left the water, my best friend Gold came up to me with two girls, also my friends, Crystal and Flannery.

"Yo dude, that was so cool!" He came up to me and high fived me. Oh God.

The girls were clapping politely, and Flannery hugged me. "I guess I should be going home, Gary. Bye!" She ran off.

I looked to my right to see Gold and Crystal making out. That boy was such a flirt.

While I was under the shower, I started to reflect on how I'd been sent to America in the first place.

 _I can't forget the goodbye that Paul said to me. Nevertheless, it was simple, short, and honest._

" _Studying?" He'd said to me, in Spanish, in his cold, emotionless voice. "Don't overdo it. If you think English is useless, don't do it. When you get there, just do whatever you want. I couldn't care less. Here," he'd thrust a credit card into my hand. "I've loaded your card with about five hundred thousand dollars. I'll load it regularly. Just so you can survive when you get there. And fool around, drink. Not my problem. It's what children of rich people do. They don't have dreams, because if they did, they could all be achieved."_

 _He started to walk away, then turned back around._

" _Si tu podes, nunca vueltes."_

 _It was then, when he said that to me, that I realized that I wasn't being sent to study abroad._

 _I was being exiled. By my own family._

I was snapped back into reality when Serenity, the barmaid, asked me if I wanted more lemonade, and I declined.

I didn't realize we'd entered the beach restaurant.

"Dude," Gold was stuffing his face with food, "how can you forgive them so easily? Your hating brother, your mother who gave birth to you, and your father who couldn't care less if you fell into a volcano?"

I shrugged. "I just don't care about them anymore. It's been two years. They're pretty much not my family anymore."

How I wished it weren't true.

 **In Spain – Ash**

This was hilarious!

Conway was cowering on the wall, trying to miss any ball I threw at him. And of course, failing woefully.

"Please, stop," he whimpered.

"You're pathetic, you loser!" This time, I threw as hard as I could, and not caring that he had a lot of bruises.

I missed.

Kenny and Lucas, my sidekicks, laughed with me.

"Hey, Ash. Your pitching's starting to get worse." Kenny suddenly said.

And that was when my laughter turned into graveness. "Well. You go and stand there then."

Kenny stopped laughing. "What?"

"Go. Stand with Conway."

"Um… Ash…" Lucas started.

"Do you want to go instead?" I asked him. He shut up and I turned my attention back to Kenny.

The fool probably thought it was a joke, so he continued laughing and stood beside the injured Conway.

"Okay, Ash. Throw."

"Nope." I shook my head. "Who said I'd be the one to throw? Conway, get over here." When he didn't, Lucas pushed him forward.

"Why…" he coughed. "Why do I have to be the one to throw?"

"Because." I tossed the ball to him. "You're nothing but a stupid nerd. Contrasts, doesn't it?" I laughed deeply. "You're going to get beaten up whether or not it doesn't hit Kenny. You're a disgrace to all Spanish and Latinos over the world. But the truth is… you're going to be weak like this for the rest of your life, loner. Why? Because, when we're adults, us rich kids are going to rule over you. Low-life, scholarship students like you, who can't even pay half the school fees of this school."

Conway started breathing heavily, and actually looked like he was about to cry, at which Kenny and Lucas laughed.

"Decide. To throw? Or not to throw?"

Conway got very red, and suddenly flung the ball at a mirror behind me. I couldn't stop the laugh from escaping me. Kenny and Lucas grabbed him.

"Although you're poor, Conway, you like protecting your pride! I like that!" I got up. "Just next time, protect your own body. Having a healthy body's the best, right?"

As I neared him, he started shaking furiously. In fear.

"Aw, look at you. Practically quaking in your boots. I'm so scared."

Kenny and Lucas started hitting him, and I joined in. After we were done beating him up, I left him bleeding on the floor.

"See you next semester, Conway. And sharpen your aim… those glasses aren't doing much for it."

"Everything on your bike is in tip top shape, Mr. Ketchum. Imported from overseas, and only the best."

I sighed. "But of course, you're still making profit, no matter the price."

The biker looked at me in mock horror. "But Mr. Ketchum! You're a loyal customer!"

"You're making money from my patronage."

"Oh, and I adjusted the tension of it…"

At that moment, someone entered the shop.

 **Leaf**

"Chicken delivery is here!" I called out to Mr. Ambrogio.

"Ah, thanks, sweetheart. Just pay my employees and drop it in the back."

As I walked to the back, two employees were sitting there. I gave the money to them and asked for the payment. "Thirty one dollars please."

One of them snickered. "What's with the extra one dollar, baby gal? Wanna buy candy?" He laughed with his partner.

They actually thought they were funny. I handed them a forty dollar note.

"My change, please."

"Ooh, young, pretty and smart." The other one came up to me. "What do you say I pick you up from work?"

"Give me my money."

"Don't worry, I'll drive you to school, tomorrow, baby girl! Will that make you happy?"

"Look, I have somewhere to be. Can you give me my money and let me go?"

The first one spoke again. "Don't play hard to get, girl…"

I'd had enough. I called the police. "Hey, good evening. I'm a junior year student making a delivery…"

"Hey, who're you calling?"

"…the police station."

"What?" They snatched my phone and cut the call. "It was a joke! A JOKE, student!"

Finally. They gave me my money and I ran out the door.

 **Ash**

As I was bent over my bike, I heard footsteps and looked up.

I saw this pretty girl run out of the shop, her long brown hair in a low ponytail.

Hmm. I turned back to my work.

 **Leaf**

Take orders, prepare, and serve. Take orders, prepare, and serve. Take orders, prepare, and serve.

It was a lot of work, yes. But it was the only way to survive.

After about an hour, I took a break, only to see my best friend, Brendan, sitting at a table doing his homework.

"Hey! Brendan!" I walked up to him. "How long have you been here?"

He seemed to think. "About thirty minutes."

I gasped in mock horror. "And you didn't order?! The manager's going to be very angry!"

Brendan laughed. "May's not coming today, I think. And here. It's going to rain today." He handed me an umbrella.

"Aw, thanks." I paused. "But wait, what will May use?"

Brendan pulled out a big, oversized raincoat. "When a girl's rich, she lives like a princess every day."

I laughed heartily, and started cleaning a tray. Brendan sighed. "How many part time jobs are you taking now?"

"It's the only thing I can do. Just to keep my head above water." He looked at me sympathetically.

"Brendan! Stop looking at her!" May, who had entered the shop, stormed up to us, and Brendan shifted over so she could sit. She glared at me.

"I thought I told you to stop trying to seduce my boyfriend."

I glared back. "Do I look pretty to you?"

"I never said you were pretty."

"Yeah. But you, on the other hand, are extremely pretty, so you shouldn't worry about that."

May rolled her eyes. "Come on, Brendan. Let's go, we need to pack for you."

I raised my eyebrows at a sheepish Brendan. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Um, I'm…" May slapped her hand over his mouth.

"No, Brendan! I'm the only one who can know! Let's go." She grabbed his hand and started to walk out of the shop.

Brendan called over his shoulder. "I'll text you!"

"Don't you dare!" May yelled.

As soon as May left the restaurant, I scoffed. All those extravagant rich kids.

 **With May and Brendan**

"I don't like Leaf. At all. I hate her. Totally. I hate her a lot." May grumbled.

Brendan chuckled. "Come on, May, don't be like that."

"I hate her even more when you say that! She's nothing but a poor, filthy bitch, but somehow still looks down on me! And I have money. A lot of money. She even knows about your childhood, which I don't! Argh! I'm so irritated."

Brendan smiled down at her, love-struck. "If you get irritated, you'll get older." He ruffled her hair.

"I can't help it today. And hey, that's foul play. Don't touch my hair!"

"Leaf and I have been friends since we were little. And that's all we are. Just friends. And that's all it will be."

"I don't believe in that. Teenage boys and girls can't be friends!" May stormed off.

Brendan grinned and went after her.

 **Leaf**

"How can't it be real? Tch, that girlfriend of yours…"

I was walking slowly home, talking to Brendan.

"I don't like the fact that she wears a different outfit every day. I don't like the fact that she climbs out of a limo every morning!" I mistakenly pressed the end button.

No! I wasn't done talking. Now he's gonna think I'm mad at him.

I sighed, and then decided to call my sister Serenity.

"Hello? Serenity? I swear, you never pick up the phone these days. How's it like, schooling in the States?"

 **Serenity**

Bruce and I were going at it again.

"It's my house! MY HOUSE, Serenity!" I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "What the f*ck do you care what I do in my house?!"

I didn't think I could get angrier. "Didn't I tell you already? It's because you're trash!" I yelled in my bad English. I started to insult him in Spanish, which he didn't understand. He only knew how to speak English.

I think his ears caught the word 'bastardo,' and then… he slapped me!

"BITCH, GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He took my money and went out again to drink, leaving me sobbing on the floor. Suddenly, the phone rang, and I picked it up.

"Hello? Serenity?" I went pale. It was Leaf. "I swear, you never pick up the phone these days. How's it like, schooling in the States?"

I couldn't bear this. I cut the call.

 **Leaf**

Huh. Wonder why she did that. I left her a message, only to feel rain on my head.

"Aw, Brendan was right! It is raining!" the umbrella wasn't working and the rain came down harder.

I rushed to the shade of a nearby shop, trying to open the umbrella, when my eye caught onto something. Was that a… dreamcatcher?

I'd always wanted one. This one was in a pretty shade of purple, and as I admired it, my umbrella opened.

"Oh? Now you decide to open? Hm." I looked back at the dreamcatcher.

 **Brendan**

I heard knocking at the door, then laughed to myself.

"What are you doing home? I thought you were eating with May," my dad said as I let him in.

"Come on, Dad. I didn't want to leave you here alone."

"When you say that, it makes me feel so much older." He started cutting carrots.

I frowned. "Hey, Dad, you're supposed to cut the carrots smaller than the potatoes."

"Why?"

"Potatoes have a higher moisture content. So they'll cook at the same time with the carrots if they're bigger."

Dad smiled at me. "Atta boy. Now try saying that in English."

I grimaced. "Um…Patats heev e hayar m… moy…" I did not know how to speak English yet.

Dad sighed. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us. I've bought your plane tickets. Have you told May that you're going to the States?"

"Of course. She said she wants to come along."

"Leaf?"

"Um. I can't tell her, Dad. She's working really hard at her job, and it would be awkward to say that I'm going abroad for education."

Dad rubbed my back and gave me an encouraging smile.

 **Mrs. Shinji II (This is Paul's dad's second wife, the first one will be addressed as Mrs. Shinji I)**

I dropped my phone for about the fifth time that night. Why wasn't Gary picking up my calls?

I tasted the soup. Pathetic. "Deena, what's wrong with the soup?" I asked the maid next to me. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't make it, m…" She seemed to perk up. She grabbed my glass of wine, dumped it in my soup, and hid the glass under her apron.

Needless to say, I was furious. "Deena!"

"Shh! The President's back and he's about to enter!"

Just then, Paul entered the room, and I gave him a warming smile. "Hello, my son…"

"Don't call me that."

I flinched. "Okay then. Have you eaten dinner?"

"I had a late lunch. Who cleaned my room?" Deena raised her hand.

"Do it again. And bring up a glass of water to my study." With that, he left the room.

I sighed. "Deena, after that, bring me a glass of the same wine. And throw this food away."

 **Leaf**

"Why do I have to eat it?" Mom had set down a tray full of different assorted foods.

"Mrs. Shinji was kind enough to give it to us. Now, eat up."

I sighed. After dinner, Mom spoke to me.

"I need you to send everything in my bank account to Serenity."

I widened my eyes. "What? Is she in trouble? What happened?"

"Calm down, Leaf." She smiled very widely. "Serenity's getting married!"

My eyes went wider. "I'm sorry, what?"

The next day, we were walking through the streets to the grocer's.

"When is the wedding? Did she invite us? Is he Spanish or American? Did you ask what he did for a living? Did she send us plane tickets?"

I stopped her. "And why aren't you responding to my questions?"

Mom looked at me like I was crazy. "Leaf, you can't go anywhere, we don't have time for that."

"And why can't we go?"

"Because if we go, we'll be tarnishing her reputation. She says he's loving, kind-hearted and hardworking. And she's accomplished so much; if we go there, we'll be like a stain."

I was annoyed. "We're her _family!_ Ever since she left, I…" I stopped ranting and cleared my throat.

"I'm not sending any money. How will I make sure it goes to America? I'll go there in person and deliver it myself." I walked away. I heard my mom calling after me, but I didn't listen.

 **Carly**

"But Mother, why do you have to remarry? It's only been a while since you left Dad."

"I need a man, Carly."

"But we're rich, Mommy! We own so many companies!"

"Yes. And if I join with another major one, it's more money and companies for me, and more luxuries for you."

I scoffed. "So it's because of the money? How typical of you." I left her office.

"Oh, and Carly? Get changed, we're having dinner with them."

"Mmm. Amazing," Mommy moaned.

We were seated at a polished table in a hotel, with some old guy and a boy named Ash. This was the family Mommy wanted to marry into?

"So, Carly," the man said to me.

"What?"

"Carly! Manners!" Mommy scolded me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, sir?"

"I heard you have a later birthday than Ash. Please say hello." He smiled at me. "You're going to be his younger sister. And I have to say, you're lovely."

"I hope you'll care for her as a sister, Ash." Mommy said.

Ash smirked at me. "Of course. She is just my type."

I dropped my fork in astonishment, and his father looked like he'd just swallowed a bug. Mommy too looked disgusted, with that pretty china doll face of hers. How could a middle aged woman look twenty…

Ash stood up. "In that case…"

His father silenced him. He didn't even look at him. "Sit down."

Ash remained standing.

His father stood up too, and I went back to playing with my nails. The next thing I heard was a slapping sound, and I looked up in alarm to see Ash clutching his cheek.

His father's voice had now sharpened to the point that it could cut steel. "Sit down."

Ash was furious. "Now I really can't sit down."

His father looked astounded.

"It would be too embarrassing in front of my younger sister." Somehow, Ash kept that sadistic smile on his face.

He nodded to me and my mother. "Enjoy your meal."

After he left, his father apologized for his behavior.

"No, don't." I stood up. "I plan on receiving an apology from him myself."

 **Ash**

That man is not my father.

As I was about to mount my bike, my new sister came out.

"What do you want? If you're here to get hold of me…"

"No." Her voice was clipped. "I'm here to let you go."

"Then have fun losing me, Carla."

"It's Carly."

"Whatever." I'd almost put my helmet on my head when she spoke again.

"You know I'm engaged to Gary, right?"

I froze. "What did you say?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "So that would make you… brothers in law."

"And?"

"I want you to know that you're not the only one against this marriage. I think you hate this more than I do. Just reminding you in case you forgot."

She nodded briskly. "With that, I'll let you go." She walked away, until I spoke up again.

"I never said I was against the marriage."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "So naïve, Carly. You mean after everything you've done in the business world, you still don't know what marrying under it means?"

"I'm asking, what do you mean by that? Explain it clearly."

"In the business world, marriage is just a mask covering joint projects, mergers and investors. In other words, the union of my father and your mother in marriage is not because they like each other. No, not at all. It simply means that they're joining their companies to make bigger ones and more money."

She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Who do you think will end up with your mother's Pear company ownership? **(A/N: In this story, Pear is the equivalent of Apple. And that's what Carly's mother owns. So just imagine her in a Steve Jobs position.)**

Her eyes widened in realization, and a gasp escaped her lips. I smirked.

"So if you like, Carly, try ending this marriage. Do your best. Just," I put on my helmet, "don't go from a Carly Acosta to a Carly Ketchum."

That being said, I drove away from a fuming Carly.

 **Leaf**

Scrub, scrub, scrub. I washed plates furiously, people around me cooking and cleaning and serving and ordering. My pink glove clad hands didn't stop washing for a second.

I was just done with the heap of plates next to me when two cooks came and dropped two full trays of leftover food for me to wash.

Sighing and wiping off my head, I started washing again.

As I received my cheque from the manager, he complimented me for my hard work.

"Gosh, Leaf. Even during the holidays you work so hard. You're not traveling anywhere?"

"I am. My sister is getting married, so I'm going to the States."

He smiled. "Congratulations! How long will she be staying?" I sighed.

"Actually? I don't think she'll come back. The fact that she's getting married there means she doesn't plan on returning to Spain anytime soon." I sighed again. "And that means that as long as she's away, I'm going to have to keep washing dishes so I and my mom can have food on our tables."

Back at home, I had exchanged money online, bought my flight ticket, and set up my passport for processing.

I knocked on my mom's door before entering, to see her folding a pile of worn out clothes.

"Mom?" She looked up. "I exchanged money today."

She blinked.

"Don't worry. I'll give the money to her and return safely… and mom? My passport's going to be done in three days. I did it myself."

Mom looked down, nodded, and then continued what she was doing. I took that as my cue to leave.

I sprawled my box on the floor back in my room, and my eyes lit up as I caught sight of the purple dreamcatcher. Yes, I'd bought it that day. It reminded me of Serenity.

 _I promise I'll become successful, and I'll come to get you and Mom. Just wait for me, Leaf. Wait a little more, she said to me._

 _How long would I wait? I couldn't anymore. I was going to meet her._

 **Carly**

I held up two pairs of heels in each of my hands, one white, one green, and both studded with jewels and intricately beautiful.

Mom came up to me, looking as beautiful as ever. "Are you immigrating? Why are you packing so much?"

"Because, Mommy, I'm going to the States to meet Gary. It's been ages since I showered him with my love." I threw both the shoes into the perfumed box. "If something unexpected happens, I may just settle down permanently."

"Must you be the one to go? Can't he come here?"

"He can, but he won't. Print your wedding invitation this night and give me tomorrow, Mommy. It's his future mother-in-law's wedding; he could never miss it."

"You need to be more supportive, Carolina. This remarriage is for the best."

"Don't call me by my full name. And whether or not you've fallen in love with Ash's dad, don't try to make me change from Carly Acosta to Carly Ketchum. It's from Carly Acosta to Carly Shinji. And have you heard the rumors? His dad raises his hand when he gets angry."

"You have a fiancé you can run to. You're living a good life," she commented, ignoring my accusation completely.

"Yes, no thanks to you."

She sighed and nodded, her ruby earrings making a soft tinkling sound. "Give my greetings to my future son in law." She left my decorated room, her heels making a clicking sound as she walked and her lavender scent wafting through the room.

"Tch. So annoying." I picked up my Pear phone, the latest model.

 **Gary**

 _When I was exiled to California, my first thought was that I would finally be able to eat lots and lots of almonds._

 _But as Paul said, I just ate and played. Because of that, I'm constantly getting in trouble with the police._

 _I've become popular in school, as well as learning how to make my mom back home cry because of me._

My phone rang, and I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Gary?" Shit, it was Carly. I cut the call.

"Dude?" Gold poked his head in. "Didn't you pick it up?"

"No," I said in English. "I already know who's calling. My fiancée, meaning she's on her way, or she's already here."

"I saw her picture! She's hot!" Gold punched my arm. "Why the hell don't you like her?!"

"Because I'm being forced into this marriage. I don't like her at all, and besides, I'm hotter than her!"

"But it's your anniversary, right?"

I stared at Gold, who got the hint.

"I'm too lazy to celebrate it!" We both yelled, rushing out of my sleek house.

 **And that's the end of the chapter. Next one? I don't know when it will be up. So please tell me what you think. Was it too long? Could you follow from the different points of view? Please let me know in a review or something.**

 **And what Paul said was, "If you can, never come back."**

 **PM, R &R, F&F. I'm out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody. Here's the second chapter of Heirs. Read on.**

…

 **That's all.**

 **Leaf: I can't wait to get to America!**

 **May: Finally! Then you can stop pestering my boyfriend.**

 **Leaf: Um, you know I've known him more than you, right? So if anyone can talk to him, it's me. *glares***

 **May: Why you bitch! Back off! #! &*%$...**

 **Me: I'm sorry. I have to separate these two before they tear off each other's heads. On the bright side, you can keep yourself occupied with my story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't have possession of Pokemon in any way.**

 **Read on!**

 **-Heirs-**

 **Leaf**

Wow… America sure was strange. This airport was huge, and there were posters and notice boards everywhere, in text written in a language I didn't really understand. Some words looked familiar, such as the toilet signs. I recognized femenino, though. Feminine.

Wait… was this English?

Thank God! I'd been taking English lessons back in Spain. Still, I couldn't speak it fully.

As I walked through the terminal, I was muttering Spanish things to myself to calm myself down, and I was getting weird looks from America.

"Come on, Leaf. Let's not chicken out."

As I went outside to call a taxi after collecting my luggage, while holding a map to know my way around, I caught sight of a very pretty girl, about my age, talking on the latest Pear phone.

"Yes, I know. I just got here," She said in Spanish.

I studied her longingly. She wore lovely white wedges, perfectly shaved shapely legs, a gorgeous bright white dress stopping at her knee and a stunning glowing diamond necklace. Her long dark brown hair had a fringe in front and cascaded down her slim back in perfect pin straight locks.

She looked rich, too, by the looks of it. Apart from the necklace, her earrings and other accessories were attractive and expensive looking, along with her flawless makeup. Not to mention her handbag and her box.

"Of course, Mommy. Gary's going to be here too. Maybe he's gotten a bit more tanned."

She turned and caught my eye.

I stuttered and turned back to my map.

"Yes, I sent him a picture. Obviously he said I've gotten a lot prettier." I focused on the map, but couldn't help letting out a little giggle. This girl was so proud.

"You know, Mommy, I'll call you back when I get to the hotel. I'm hanging up." She put down her phone.

"Hey, you over there."

I looked up in question, and she walked in a model like manner towards me. What?

"I saw you laughing." She blinked coldly. "What's the joke?"

I think my armpits got a little damp. I did not want to know what she would do.

So I decided to play dumb.

"Qu'est parles-vous? Je suis de France." I hurriedly said in French. **(A/N – Translation: What are you talking about? I'm from France.)** I didn't let her know that I could understand Spanish.

But I got a shock.

"Si tu veux pretends tu es de France, tu ne voudrais pas autour de vous quand je dit vous est-ce qu'il y a pendant." She smirked. "Est-ce que vrait-il?" **(If you want to pretend that you are from France, you wouldn't have turned around when I said 'you over there.' Isn't that true?)**

I widened my eyes. I had not known she could speak French. "Excusez-moi."

"Hey!" She yelled, back to Spanish. I rolled my eyes hard before turning back around.

"What?"

"Why were you snickering?"

Oh God. How annoying could this girl be? "Oh, nothing. It's just that what you said over the phone and what I saw are different."

"Do I look like I want to be debating this with you?"

"Then, let me leave. And I'll say it once more. I wasn't laughing at you." I sighed. "It was more like empathy. Like, 'I'm not the only one who's not used to this place."

She cocked an arched eyebrow. "What?" she hissed menacingly.

"I'm sorry for pretending to be French. I'll be on my way now."

As I walked away, I heard her rudely commanding her driver to open the door.

 **Gary**

God, I loved surfing with my life.

From where I was out on the ocean, I could hear all my friends, especially Gold, cheering me on from the sidelines. As soon as I got to the shore, they erupted.

"Party at Tan's!"

As I laughed with them, I couldn't help but notice a cute girl with a big red box come onto the bridge above us and stare at us, albeit forlornly.

Flannery ran up to me.

"Gary! That was such a great wave you caught."

"Thanks."

As I stuck my surfboard in the sand, I looked curiously at the girl, only to see her walking away.

 **Leaf**

I walked up to the door of the house while looking at my map earnestly.

"This is the house," I mumbled. Serenity should be in there. "Serenity!"

No answer.

"Serenity! Serenity, it's me, Leaf!"

Right after I said that, a girl opened the door. She had tangled red-brown hair that stopped at her shoulders, a purple-pink top with a neckline stopping at her belly button, ripped jean shorts and black flip flops, and she appeared to have hurriedly gotten out of bed.

She scrutinized me suspiciously, triggering a blush. "Who are you?" she croaked, and her breath knocked me in the face with its potent smell of coffee. Better just get this over with.

I started to ramble in Spanish, "Serenity's not here? I don't really know English…"

"What are you even talking about?" she cut me off confusedly. "Rudy!"

I waited for a while, observing the house. It looked small, but cozy. I wondered how many people lived in it…

"Who the hell is it?" A much deeper voice grumbled, similar to a dog's growl.

Raising my head, I was met with a very shocking sight. A tall, monstrous burly man, standing almost three heads taller than the lady, shirtless. With a forest of chest hair.

Heavily insulted, I abruptly cocked my head to the side, sensing the scalding heat of the blood creeping up my neck and landing on my cheeks. It felt like I had endured a whole day before the man finished peering at me.

"Leaf?"

I met his eyes, mine widened.

 **-Heirs-**

Inside the house, the appearance degraded by about 100 times. Ancient newspapers were flung around the room, with stray sheets clinging to protruding surfaces. Beer bottles, broken, new and old, were strewn in every angle, the opened ones abandoned and their contents spilling out. Rudy took one in his hand and downed it, hurling it away once he was done. I cringed as the sound of breaking glass invaded my ears, and the stench of alcohol filled my nostrils. Garbage cans with rotting components were full and spilled on the soiled carpet, mould and cobwebs decorated the ceiling and every moist corner. Abandoned food lay on a table with flies circling it. The couches were obscured with piles of smelly, filthy articles of clothing, and I just managed to avoid sinking my foot into a pile of used tampons, some old and brown, some new and red, still dripping with blood.

Was Serenity living in this grimy, mucky hellhole of a dumping ground? But wasn't she staying at the university campus? And where was she? Wasn't she getting married?

Did she lie?

As that possibility and a million more ones flooded my mind, I could feel the anger overtaking me. I needed to see Serenity, and I needed answers NOW.

Rudy and the girl were quarreling in the kitchen, which was in an even worse state.

"How many girls are you seeing right now?"

"Just calm down, Brianna."

"And who is she?"

"That's Serenity's sister."

"So what, you're dating kids now?"

"What? She looks… seventeen, at most."

"And so what, Rudy? I'm sick and tired of this. I'm done! Tell me…"

I waited as they argued, not steeping out of the 'decent' spot I'd managed to create for myself on the floor.

They seemed to stop, and Brianna slammed a door, probably leading to a room. Rudy came over to me, flopping down on one of the couches, and taking a sip from a new beer. I needed to find Serenity.

"Hey, you. Are you Serenity's husband?" I asked him in broken English.

He spat out his beer, staring at me with his eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "Husband?! NO, sweetie." He laughed heartily. "We just live together."

My irritability turned into confusion. "What? Live to…" I shook my head. "Why are you? Why you not married to Serenity?"

He coked an eyebrow. "Married?"

"Yes."

"Why would I marry Serenity?"

As he went to get another can, my mind processed what he said. Did he just ask why he would marry her? Did that mean… she wasn't getting married?

"Err… Serenity university, where?"

His confusion mounted even more. "Serenity doesn't go to school," he said with a chuckle.

"So that was a lie too…." Searing tears of wrath prickled my eyes as my throat tightened painfully. I couldn't believe this. Here Mom and I were, scraping together money to survive because we would send all our earnings to her so she could pay for her school fees, only to find out she didn't go to school? What did she use the money for,then? I would slap her senseless if I saw her.

"What?" Rudy snapped me out of my thoughts. All I could see was red, and his hair was just amplified my anger.

"I'm asking," I breathed heavily, trying to suppress my wrath. I was speaking in Spanish now, watching his face contorting in surprise. "I'm asking you WHERE THE HELL THAT CRAZY BITCH IS!"

 **Gary**

I sat quietly in the café, finishing up my homework. I'd just gotten a call from Carly, saying she was in the States.

Serenity came up to me and filled my glass. "What are you always writing?"

"It's school homework. An essay," I answered in Spanish. I knew she was an immigrant, so no need to stress my head speaking English.

"You don't look like someone that does homework."

I adjusted my position, a small smile on my face. "It's because of that, that I make sure I do it… it's kind of a rebellion."

"Who are you writing to? Your teacher?"

Glancing at Serenity, I grinned humorously. "Thanks for the coffee." Laughing, she went back to the kitchen.

"If you need anything, call for me."

As I wrote, I thought for a while.

 _I'm not sure why as I'm writing, I'm thinking about thinking about something. It's kind of weird… Paul told me not to do it too much. Thinking, that is…_

 **Paul**

"At the present, during the first two quarters of 2017, the mall targeted for customers in the top 10% income's total revenue isn't good."

"That's right." I, as the President, had to contribute to this meeting. How I'd landed as President, I didn't know. According to Father, the people here did not care about age; they were ranked according to their intellect. I apparently had a lot of that, so here I was. "So?"

"The area beside the mall is still under development, so to raise our revenue, we need continuous publicity."

"So that means," I questioned, annoyed, "we have been using sporadic publicity? And that means…" I paused. "We've been spending more money instead of less?"

"IT's not too late," another member said. "Instead of targeting families with the most income, we could target ordinary families…"

"If we were to do that," I boomed, "we would have built an amusement park, not a Premium Shopping Mall!"

"When did you get the half yearly earnings report?" I asked.

"A week ago, sir."

"Then I should have fired you a week ago. Is there anyone who saw the report beforehand?"

The Chief Secretary, Mr. Hayden, spoke up. "The Chairman is the only other person."

"So that means, that the lazy Chairman," I referred to my old excuse of a father, "that has been sleeping and eating at home for weeks now, knows, while I, who has been coming to work daily, am just finding out?!"

Secretary Hayden spoke again. "If I had reported it, your father would have been the one sitting there," he pointed to my seat, "right now."

It was then I knew, that my father knew of how much I'd been saying of him.

"How many eyes and ears has my father in this room?" Immediately, everyone either looked away, or looked guilty.

"'If you want to continue farming, be nicer to the maintenance guy than the landlord.' That's the Chairman's message to you."

"And," I continued, "everyone else in this room, up to what position do you consider as the maintenance guy?"

Mr. Hayden's lips stretched into a cross between a smile and a smirk. "As the landlord, what do you think?"

I curled my fist.

 **Gary**

After completing my essay and finishing my coffee, I decided to just relax for a while and observe the outside world.

Presently, I noticed something quite intriguing. A girl, rolling a big red box and with a backpack on, was standing outside the window and seemed to be trying to look around ofr someone. Was it weird that she looked a lot like Serenity…?

She wore sneakers, ripped jeans, a white t-shirt and had a checkered jacket tied around her waist. Her hair reached her waist, was straight and brown, and was blowing around in the wind.

It was then that I recognized her. She was the girl from the beach I'd seen before.

 **Leaf**

As I stood outside the café, I searched around desperately for Serenity. Maybe she was here…?

My eyes landed on someone very familiar.

Wearing a plain white shirt and a black skirt with an apron on, she was talking to aguy who was touching her, very provocatively. I couldn't believe my eyes.

 _So this is what's really going on…_ Hot, angry tears trickled down my cheeks. _Such a liar. And working as a prostitute? So she doesn't care about us?_

The man talking to her slipped some money inside her shirt, and I think I caught 'We're gonna have a lot of fun tonight.'

I caught sight of a boy, with very spiky golden hair, staring at me with… was that curiosity? He was sipping on a drink.

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that the same girl I'd been looking for all this while, my own flesh and blood, had lied to us about schooling and getting married – I couldn't believe I'd trusted her on that, she hated the idea of getting married - and was actually working as a prostitute. And denting her image.

Serenity.

 **Sorry about the late chapter. Hope you liked it!**

 **-Barbella**


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE: Listening With Your Feet is on hiatus. I'm sorry about that, but my fountain of ideas (more like a puddle) has run dry. So, I'll be taking a break from that until I return with a bundle of fresh ideas, but for now, no.**

 **However, Heirs is still going strong and isn't leaving anytime soon! So please read on!**

 **Um, so Paul's been introduced, but Dawn won't come in until much later, so please be patient for that. And other characters will return, I think from about next 2-5 chapters. For now, it's mainly Leaf and Gary, though.**

 **And please, when I say that someone's speaking in English, that's what they're doing until the POV changes or until I indicate that they're speaking Spanish, and vice versa. One more thing, Bruce from chapter 1 is supposed to be Rudy, so sorry.**

 **P.S: Do I seem depressed when I give author notes on LWYF? Someone told me that.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

 **-o-o-o-**

 **Gary**

Okay, this was getting very interesting.

Some random girl just showed up at this café carrying a huge ass box, sees Serenity, and starts crying.

There was no plausible reason for her to be sad, at least not that I could come up with.

But wait…

Were they lesbians?

Serenity came up to me, and a million different possibilities whirled around through my mind. As I was about to ask her, she spoke first, in English.

"Should I pour you more coffee?"

 **Serenity**

When Gary didn't answer, I poured for him. AS I did so, I happened to notice that his normally rapt attention was mysteriously drawn to something outside the window. Wondering what it could be, I tentatively stared in the same spot he was staring at…

…and completely forgot all about the boiling coffee.

What on earth was my little sister doing here? In America? I was extremely curious, but happiness overwhelmed me so much I didn't watch where I was pouring the coffee.

"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"

Gary's sudden scream snapped me out of my euphoria, and I looked to see that I'd unconsciously spilled the burning coffee all over Gary's crotch.

"Sorry, Gary! Here!" As I hurriedly dumped a fresh pile of tissues onto him and quickly rushed to meet Leaf, I heard him yelling out in pure anger.

I'd have to deal with him later. Right now, all I could think about was Leaf. I couldn't tell how happy I was! It had been more than two years.

"Leaf?" When I finally reached her, she was turned away from me. I joyfully attempted to hug her, but she pushed me away, sniffing.

"Leaf? Why are you here? What's going on?" I questioned in Spanish, smiling warmly at her. "Mom? How's mom?"

To say that I was not absolutely taken aback by the chilling look she gave me would be an understatement.

"Mom?" I was finally hearing her speak, face to face, after three and a half years, to be exact. However, it wasn't the tone I'd been expecting. Instead of Leaf's voice sounding cheeky and playful like it always did, it was cold, distant and… broken.

"Mom?" she repeated. "Mom? Can words like that now come out of your lying mouth?"

I swept back my hair, confused. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? You should have contacted me."

"I tried to contact you but I couldn't. And who knew," she hissed, coming closer, "if you would spew more lies from your mouth, already full with deceit. Really. I can't believe that I trusted you. No, seriously." She sniffed again. "You're going to school, Serenity? You have a job? _You're getting_ _ **married?"**_ Her voice broke on that last part, and it was then that I understood.

She knew I'd lied. She'd asked Rudy. No wonder she was furious…

"And that's not all. You're a _prostitute?!"_

I couldn't handle any more of her accusations. I needed answers. "From who did you find out that I was working here?"

"'From who'?" she shot back immediately, with a sharp, cutting tone. "Of course from the man that you live with."

My eyes went wide, breath hitching. She'd been to my HOUSE?!

My sister continued with her rapping. "You've been living while giving that man money for alcohol? Have you seen the state of that place? How did you start living there? What happened to your house? The school you went to? How did all this start? What even…"

"LEAF!" I yelled; I was starting to get annoyed. "Calm the hell down."

"Until when are you going to stop telling lies?! Even from when we were little…"

I slowly felt the tears about to start creeping in, and I forced them down, gulping. I wasn't sad because she was yelling at me, or because people could see.

I was broken, because every single thing she said was absolutely true. And every single thing she said slashed at my soul with each letter, breaking me down from the insides. I'd been through a lot, and was almost immune to anything, but only Leaf still had a way to get under my skin.

If I stayed here for more than five minutes, I was going to lose it.

I tipped over her box and opened it, looking for the money. I knew she had it, because she always brought money with her wherever she went. All I could do now was continue being evil, because I was too far in to consider going back.

"Where is it?"

"What?" she sounded tired, like she had given up on me. I didn't blame her at all.

"The money. Where is it?"

I heard a scoff of disbelief, felt a tear plummet onto my forehead. "This is really as far as you can go, Serenity Green." Another sigh. "I'm being punished for leaving my mother suffering and coming to my older sister. I'm being punished rightly."

"Where is it?!"

"Stop it."

I didn't, and I threw out a tiny jotter.

Leaf reacted to it, and grabbed my hands and started struggling with me. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP IT!" She let me go, glaring at me, her hazel brown eyes glistening and her cheeks stained with dried tears. "Life is really… a piece of shit." She hiccupped. "You were my dream, Serenity. You were my last hope, Mom's last hope! OUR last hope of living a better life!" She wiped her tears as I stood still, listening.

"We spent everything preparing you to live our lives for us, because it's already decided whether or not we'll be successful… from the day we're born. So I just decided early on that I'll go to community college. And make a deal with this unfair world in exchange for a $2000 secretarial job." Hiccupping one more time, she finished. "All because Mom and I need to survive until you come back."

This was affecting me too much. All I could do was put on an indifferent mask, shrug, and say 'Sorry,' while inwardly fighting a million battles and watching my lovely sister, the best thing to happen to me, lose all sense of hope in this world.

"Sorry."

I couldn't look at her face as I went back down to the box. I knew the tears would fall.

"One more time. Just cover for me once more, Leaf."

My trembling hands disarranged the contents of the box, scattering, searching, trying to find what I was looking for so that I could run away from all this. Like I always did.

I found it. A cheque of eight thousand dollars.

I stood up one more time. "Hurry and go back to Spain. I'll call mom."

"And with what money? Get your hands off."

Once more, she wrestled with me, me coming out on top. " _Stop!_ How can you do this to Mom?!"

"Just _go!"_

 **Leaf**

All that I could do was watch in hate and sorrow as my sister ran away from me, and scream her name, hoping that she'd come back.

But she didn't.

I ran back to my box, its contents all over the road, and threw them back inside, sobbing all the while.

"Serenity…." I wept, my shoulders giving in to the crushing of my soul. "We should go together…"

The last thing I threw in, still weeping, was the dreamcatcher. But not yet. And as I sat in the middle of the road, life continued as it was before. How was the world immune to my sorrow?

All I could think was one thing, looking at the dreamcatcher.

 _You were my dream, Serenity…_

 **Gary**

All I could do was watch in pure amazement as this stunning girl broke down in the middle of the road, her hair getting stuck to her tears.

What could I say? I sympathized with her. After all, I knew what it was like to have your heart broken by your sibling…

"Dude!" Gold returned from his second round of surfing, plopping down in front of me. "This party is so going to be epic. Come _on,_ let's go! Jessie said you should!"

Not once taking my eyes off the girl that had captured my attention, I silently raised a finger to my lips.

Gold seemed to look where I was looking, and began to rant. "Oh, geez, who is that girl?!"

He sipped my coffee. "Talk about a fallen angel! You are always one step ahead of me." He set it down. "I'll take care of the rest. You don't think she's got a gun, right? No." He ran outside before I could answer.

And as he left, my eyes still remained clung to her.

 **Leaf**

Some random guy came up to me and held up a pair of my shoes for me to take. "Are you alright?"

I scanned him wearily. He wasn't half bad, but the most noticable thing about him, I would say, were his eyes. They were a striking gold colour. I sniffed. "I'm ok, thank you," I managed to reply in English, holding up my packed bean powder that was supposed to be for Serenity, to put in my box.

"I've decided that I'll stop drinking because I met you!" He clasped his hands together in a praying gesture. "Yes! Thank you!" At least, that's what I made him out to say.

The guy suddenly snatched the powder from my hands and ran!

Again startled, I began to ramble in Spanish. "What in the name of… I've met a thief!" I stood up, running after him. "Hey you! Come back! Are you not stopping? Hey!"

 **Gary**

AS I watched Gold run off to the beach, I was wondering why on earth he would steal white bean powder. He did have a crazy obsession with hard drugs though…

Then it dawned on me.

"GOLD!" I screamed with all my might. "Those AREN'T DRUGS!"

As I pursued them, I could see Gold collapse in the sand and the girl screaming in Spanish. "Give it to me, you thief! Do you know how hard my mom worked for this?!"

As she struggled with Gold, the most horrifying thing happened. Gold was asthmatic.

And the bag burst… all. Over. Him.

By the time I reached there, Gold was choking, and the girl was sitting in the sand, confused. Then he passed out.

"Hey, Gold? Gold!" I shook him forcefully. "Deep shit. Wake up, wake up. GOLD!" I slapped him. "Yo, crazy kid!"

I addressed the Spanish girl. "Get your phone and call 911. Quickly!"

Taken aback, she questioned me in puzzlement. "You're Spanish?"

I couldn't believe this. I sent her a look that asked her if she was crazy. "Does that matter, right now?!"

"I don't have a cell phone."

Face-palming, I sighed. I'd have to do all the work myself.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

 **Leaf**

"The patient is in shock, caused by an allergy," the nurse informed us. Me and the blonde hedgehog had carried his crazy friend to the hospital, where he was admitted.

"Yes," Blondie said. "Beans."

"Bean, that's right," I put in helpfully, in Spanish. "It's bean flour."

He gave me an are-you-dumb look. "I know."

Silenced by his harsh reply, I blushed.

He addressed the nurse. "When's he going to wake up?"

"Well, we gave him the medicine, so let's see." She shrugged. "He's perfectly fine. Come with me; you'll have to fill out some papers." She walked away.

Before the boy could follow her, I stopped him. "Your friend will be okay, right?"

"Why the hell do you carry that thing around?"

Gosh, this guy was so salty. "Are you getting mad at me? The one who stole was your friend, you know. And drugs at that!"

"He was just drunk."

"Wow." I scoffed. "He'd said he'd stop drinking. What irony."

"If he wasn't, he would've differentiated cocaine from bean flour."

"Then you're saying this is my fault?! I'm the most flabbergasted here."

"I never _said_ it was, though it is. And the person who was hassled was me." He walked away.

My jaw dropped. I was too shocked to say anything, and when I regained my senses, I tried to call after him, but an officer came up to me holding my bean flour.

"Is this yours?" It had a paper saying 'evidence'. Inwardly, I gulped.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-**

"Dis is… bin flowur," I tried to tell the officer in my bad English. He'd taken me outside, and it was night time by now, but it was still very busy.

"Em… Ah! Biin pawdor, you know? Just pood. My point is, is not drug." **(Translation: This is… bean flour. Um… Ah! Bean powder, you know? Just food. My point is, it's not a drug.)**

"Well, we need to look into that. People don't normally eat food through their nose, do they? What's your address?"

I couldn't understand. "What?"

"ADDRESS."

"Oh!" I understood that. "Um… Am from Spain. Am Spanish."

"Huh. Let me see your passport."

I blinked. "Wha…?"

"PASSPORT."

I nodded, pulling out my passport and showing it to him. However, he continued to fire questions at me.

"Where are you staying in the U.S? You're not here illegally, are you?"

I scratched my head. "What's going on? This is crazy," I muttered in Spanish. I glanced back up at the man. "More slow, please…" I managed to croak out. I was about to pull out my tablet to open my translating app, until I felt a heavy, muscled arm around my shoulder.

"Hey…" I looked up, expecting to see the officer, but instead saw the hot blond from earlier.

Hold on… Did I just call him hot?

"It's okay, baby," he said soothingly to me, sending waves of comfort through my body. "She's my girlfriend," he continued, "just here to stay for a bit."

The officer eyed him. "Hey, Gary. Long time no see." He sighed. "Of course you were involved."

So his name was Gary? Interesting.

Gary scratched his head. "Anyway, that's not a drug, you know that."

"Even though it wasn't, now that you're involved, I can't think that way anymore. Don't you think?"

I looked up at Gary. "What did he say? Did he say something bad?"

"Look, until we get the results, I'm keeping your girlfriend's passport. You," he said, pointing to me, "better not run away."

After the officer left, I fired question after question at Gary. "What kind of thing is this?! He took my passport. When's he returning it?"

"When that time comes."

"When is that?"

"When it is."

"Ugh, you're really quite annoying."

"True. But then, you really talk shortly. You didn't even introduce yourself."

I hung my head. I'd thought… "Doesn't everyone talk casually in America?"

"That's in the case of English."

"Then think of it as English. And I saw your friend's age from his chart. He's the same age as me, which means you must be the same age as me."

He looked uncomfortable for a while, then cleared his throat. "Are you going to keep standing there? Where are you staying? I need to alert you when the police calls, since you don't have a phone."

I sighed. "Could you lend me your cell phone for a while? I'll pay you for the call." I paused. "My sister lives nearby."

Gary sneered. "Tell me, would she answer your call? After fighting big time like that."

I widened my eyes. "You saw?!" Gosh, that's embarrassing… "That's not something for you to be concerned with. Anyway, this isn't my fault. So, you should take me home." I thought for a while. "I'll pay for the fare!"

He smirked, adjusting his position. "Why do you keep on trying to settle things with money? Do you have a lot of money?"

I stuttered. "I…um…Serenity stole it…" I shook my head. "You should just go. Please."

He scrutinized me for a while, then out of nowhere just grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder.

I pounded his back. What the hell?! "HEY! Put me down!"

 **-o-o-o-o-o-**

Later, we pulled over outside Serenity's house, and I removed my box.

"In the morning at eight, then twelve and three in the afternoon," I told Gary as I hauled out my box from his car's trunk. "I'll call you three times. If my passport's back you can answer, and if it isn't, you don't have to answer. I'm requesting of you."

Gary sighed, annoyed. "You're doing all sorts of things."

"Thanks for bringing me here." He looked away, and I sighed.

I started to walk up the steps to the house, and I rang the doorbell.

No answer.

I looked in the window, but the house was dark. Where was Serenity? Was she still mad? I needed my money back.

Had she run away?

I wouldn't be surprised. Warily looking back, I observed that Gary was still waiting patiently, his car humming.

"No one's there?" Gary.

"She'll come."

"You'll wait till she comes?"

"She may be nearby."

"Have you ever heard of night streets in the USA?"

"Hey, that's scaring me."

"So are you just plain stupid, or you expect someone who ran away with money to be at home?!"

I gulped. He had a point. But did I really want to be alone with a hormonal teenage boy at the peak of his teenage years? I couldn't. "She'll come."

Gary's face hardened. "Alright then." He started his engine. "Wait."

After he drove away, I sighed and sat down on the steps. Maybe I should've gone with him; it was a better alternative than staying here. It was too late, though.

After a while, I heard some voices and then saw a group of boys, a bit older than me, coming up to me.

"Hey, come party with us!" I shifted further up the step.

"Yeah, let's have a good time, baby!"

"What a gal!"

"Wish all Latinas were that cute, yo."

"Stupid, you live next to one!"

They eventually disappeared, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I noticed headlights coming from the opposite direction as I started to walk to anywhere that would have me for the night.

But I was puzzled, because the car slowed down until it stopped right next to me. Well, until I observed the intricate red coloring and the face behind the wheel.

Gary stared back up at me.

"Wanna crash at my place?"

 **And there you have it, everyone. That's the third chapter. I'm sorry, I owe you an extra-long chapter due to the useless length of the last one, I think the next one'll be longer; I can't tell. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and the plot will really start boiling very soon! Sorry for the filler chapter.**

 **Bye! ;D 3 - Barbella**

 **Little edit note: Thanks to the guest reviewer for pointing this out. When I say Leaf's box, it means her traveling suitcase; I'm just used to calling it a box.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! So, I'm back from my Easter Break. I just needed a few weeks to completely avoid anything work or school. So I'm back, refreshed and ready to write! Please read on.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the plot. All I own is Carly (the eighteen year old OC, engaged to Gary)**

 **P.S: There is a moment of heavy, perverted and very detailed description in this chapter, so you can skip that if you want to. I will indicate.**

 **-** _ **Heirs**_ **-**

I faltered as I stupidly stood there for about two minutes, thinking of what to say. How was I supposed to react?

"Um…" I coughed. "H…how am I sure that your house is safer than this place?"

Idiot, Leaf! That was so stupid. Obviously his home would be safer than here!

But Gary didn't seem to be annoyed. He sighed good-naturedly, having calmed down from before.

"I don't know if it'll be safer, but… it's definitely gonna be a lot comfier than just sleeping on your sister's doorstep. Who, by the way, is AWOL." He revved his car engine. "You don't know America, do you? Lots of drunk old men. And someone like you," he said, gesturing to me up and down, "wouldn't last a night. So? Are you coming?"

Again, I hesitated.

Ten seconds.

Thirty.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes. His patience should be wearing thin.

"Come on, sweet cheeks, my gas is wasting."

Faster than lightning, I snapped my head to the side. "Sweet cheeks?"

"Yes, sweet cheeks. You're cute."

I blushed profusely. Boys rarely flirted with me… I guess it was all the stress back home taking its toll on me.

I adjusted my grip on my suitcase.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

As soon as Gary walked in, the lights came on.

"Come on in. What are you standing outside for?"

When he dropped his bag and headed to his room, I took a moment to admire his house.

He lived here? All by himself? What kind of money did this guy have? This was crazy.

I heaved my suitcase down the stairs, not once taking my eyes off the décor.

"Make yourself comfortable."

I set my suitcase aside and faced a tired Gary, who was reclining on one of the high quality couches and drinking a can of soda. "Don't you live with your family?"

He looked away, his smile dissolving. "No."

What was up with that? "So you live alone, then."

"What's wrong with me living alone?"

I couldn't believe this. Who the hell could live alone?! With disgust, I questioned him. "What are you?!"

"What do you mean, what are you? There's nothing wrong with this."

I cleared my throat, swallowing the lump of nervousness. "You're not a drug dealer or thug or anything, are you… sir?"

Gary looked offended, his handsome face scrunching up.

…

Oh, fine, he is handsome! Very. I wouldn't deny it anymore. But that didn't mean I liked him.

"What?" He asked me, incredulous.

"What's your job, sir? Are you in a gang?"

"Do I look like that kind of person to you?"

I shifted, gulping again. "Well, that police guy knew you well, so… yeah. And, you're friends with a guy that likes anything that looks like cocaine, so…"

He nodded matter-of-factly. "True."

He paused for a while. "But…"

 **Gary**

I paused. I wanted to see how she'd react.

"But…" I stood up. "What makes you think that I sell drugs only?"

She took a step back, and I pursued with one forward.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Like… that guy that you gave your passport to. You don't really think he's an actual police officer, do you?"

She scratched her head, confused. "Shit. What have I gotten myself into…" she muttered.

"I heard that."

I edged her closer to the wall, than glanced down at her slim stomach. "Do you still have two kidneys?"

I could only describe the look on her face as priceless; by now, she looked completely freaked out, her skin paled and her hazel brown eyes widened. She grabbed her bag and set it in front of her as some sort of shield. "If you take one step closer…"

I stepped closer. Her back hit a door. Then, to amplify her fright even more, I leaned in to her face, our noses almost brushing. She was shrinking into herself, murmuring prayers, and…

Oddly enough, I felt something tugging in my chest.

I ignored it as I placed my hand on the doorknob behind her.

"This will be your room."

And as I pushed down the knob, she fell onto the guest room floor with a startled squeal.

"Call me if you need anything." With that, I turned around and walked away, confidently smirking.

She was special, all right. Speaking of girls, I groaned inwardly as I realized that Carly would be coming in tomorrow. However, my thoughts drifted back to the cute, petite girl in my guest room, and I realized something.

I didn't know her name.

 **Leaf**

No words could describe how relieved I was. For a moment, I assumed he would strike me down and rob me of my life and my kidneys… I sighed in relief.

"Why does he let me think things like that?! Maybe that's why I've seen only one friend of his. People must be creeped out."

Then again, I didn't know Gary all that well, so I couldn't go judging.

 **-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-**

Later, I got ready for a good night's sleep. As I was rubbing my calves from all the walking, a memory, very recent, popped into my head.

 _I couldn't look at her face as she went back down to the box. I knew the tears would fall._

" _One more time. Just cover for me once more, Leaf."_

 _Serenity's trembling hands disarranged the contents of the box, scattering, searching, trying to find what she was looking for so that she could run away from all this. Like she always did._

 _She found it. A cheque of eight thousand dollars._

 _She stood up one more time. "Hurry and go back to Spain. I'll call mom."_

" _And with what money? Get your hands off."_

 _Once more, she wrestled with me, her coming out on top. "Stop! How can you do this to Mom?!"_

" _Just_ _ **go**_ _!"_

I sadly remembered how she'd run away, and how I'd frantically chased after her.

 _Don't go, Serenity…_

 _We should go together…_

 _You were my dream, Serenity…_

I wasn't even aware that I'd started crying. I wiped the tears off hastily, and started to talk to myself. "Other than the food from the plane, I didn't eat anything." It was only then, when my stomach growled, that I realized how hungry I was. "God, I'm hungry… please give me food to eat," I prayed. I was starving desperately.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I was so hungry now that I didn't care.

There was so much variety in Gary's fridge, and all appeared equally appealing. How on earth did he decide what to eat every day?

However, although they looked tempting, I didn't know what half of them were. But like I said, too hungry to care.

I grabbed a few jars and bottles, along with a can of that green soda I saw Gary drinking before.

 **-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-**

I'd tried out some of these stuff, and they weren't half bad, just that I couldn't understand what was written on them, because it was in English. Onto my newest experiment!

I opened a jar, to see smooth, thick brown stuff in it. Dipping a spoon inside it, I tentatively licked the tip. Mmm… peanut. I loved peanuts. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was butter made out of peanuts. I kept tasting each jar, revolted by some, and enjoying some, like the peanut. Hmm… chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes.

So you can imagine how it was that I almost pooped my pants when the light came on.

"What are you doing? In the dark, too."

Immediately, I started to blubber. "I'm SORRY! I didn't ask for permission first. But I only ate food that was already expired, so… please take this money in exchange." I pushed a five dollar bill towards Gary, praying he wouldn't get mad.

"I don't want or need your money."

He picked up some jars and began to read them out in Spanish, so I would understand. "Chicken soup. Mushrooms in salt water. Tomato sauce. Peanut butter." He gazed at me, looking almost sympathetic. "What kind of sad life do you have, that you're eating this?"

Hell no. I wasn't answering that. I grabbed the green soda can. "I paid for this, too. So I'm eating it."

"You _drink_ soda."

"Whatever."

Before I could take my first step, however, he called out to me. "Hey! Aren't you going to clean this up?" I mentally facepalmed for being so stupid. I turned around, packing up the stuff. For some reason, Gary was staring at me intently.

To clear the awkward silence, I spoke. "How do you recycle?"

Gary was so close to me, I could feel his breath on my neck. Which was weird, considering he was more than a head taller than me. "I don't know, I've never done it before." My eyes widened.

As if that wasn't enough to startle me, his next question caught me completely off guard. "What's your name?"

"What?!"

He sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "In case you don't understand, I mean… _what did your parents call you when you were born?_ "

I deliberately avoided his question. I wasn't handing out my name to some stranger. "I wasn't able to say this before, but thanks for letting me stay here."

"Your name's pretty long." Damn, he wasn't giving up. So I decided to ignore him until he spoke again. "You shouldn't thank me. It wasn't out of kindness, I was only owing you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It's compensation for the bean powder." Ouch, that struck a chord. "You said it was for your sister."

He retreated to his room to sleep this time, probably annoyed from being woken up.

I couldn't help but blush as I recalled that he said he was doing it to make up for my lost bean powder.

 _So he does have a heart…_

 **Paul**

"As soon as I booked the plane tickets, Flash Hotel contacted us," Mr. Birch informed me as we strolled down the hall.

"They said that just in case you hadn't appointed a hotel to stay with, that…"

"I should come stay with them?" I questioned.

"Er… yes."

I sighed before moving on to the next topic. "I heard CEO Ketchum of that company is getting engaged to CEO Acosta of Pear Limited. Is he acting like a prime shareholder, already?"

I was about to continue talking, but I noticed that Secretary Birch had stopped walking, looking dazed.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him, impatient. He seemed to snap out of it before shaking his head. Negative.

"Um, for your Family Party, I've made the guest list. There are 11 people, and they will all be accompanied by their families." He held out a file to me.

Family Party… I completely forgot. In the U.S…

Gary…

I stared through my chief secretary for a long time, leading to him shifting out of discomfort. He drew back his hand.

"I've also sent it through e-mail…"

"So why did you decide to waste paper on that?" I questioned, sharp as a blade.

"It's a habit I picked up while working for your father, Chairman Brandon. I informed him of your trip to the U.S."

"And you didn't think I could do it myself?" By now, I was heavily annoyed. I was tired of hearing bullshit about my father. "Mr. Birch, I've always been curious to ask… who do you think you're working for?! ME, or _my father?"_

Although he looked wary now, he responded. "I am loyal to whoever heads Bolt Industries."

"Really, now?"

Mr. Birch smiled in amusement. "Do you know that you seem to be a man who's angry at his cheating girlfriend?"

I calmed down, my mood brightening. Girlfriend… I hadn't seen Dawn in a long time.

I restored my mask, though there was a hint of amusement. "Because you didn't see it correctly. You romanticist, I was advising you. Reach out to more women. So you won't get 'killed' when the CEO dies."

"Is that all?"

My mood turned sour again. "You're not even scared. Another bad habit my father taught you."

With one last scowl, I stalked away from him, seething.

 **-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-**

Mrs. Shinji was in her husband's study with him, speaking.

"Eat healthy, you know. Health is important at this age," he was telling her.

She sighed tiredly. "No matter how much you try, or how nice you are, I'm not removing my name from the family tree."

"I never asked you to remove it." He sipped his tea. "You, after all, are the one who brought Gary's mother into this house."

Mrs. Shinji stared at her husband, incredulous. "What was I supposed to do?! I couldn't bear any more children after Paul. I did what had to be done. Even if Gary's not my son, I treat him as though he is."

"This is my fault. I should have…"

Mrs. Shinji cut him off. "Good that you know," she hissed. "That family tree is never changing." Giving a last scowl, identical to her son's, she left the study.

 **Leaf**

I wiped my tears, sniffing heavily. I'd just called Mom, and turns out that things were even worse back home. I was sure my eyes were red and puffy, along with my cheeks and nose.

Hearing a knock at my door, I opened it to see Gary standing there with a plate of burger and chips.

He held it out to me. "Here. I remembered you were hungry."

I sniffed again as I took it from him. "Thanks." I mentally kicked myself when he took a closer glance at me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied a little too quickly.

He nodded, though I could tell he didn't buy it one bit. "Right. And there's no need to thank me," he smirked, "it's something that's good for your kidneys."

I widened my eyes, taken aback. "Don't."

"You do not know how to lie well."

I scoffed. "When did I…" I trailed off, the realization striking me as I gasped. "You saw?! You were listening?"

He shrugged. "Of course. It's quite interesting to hear a female voice here. Almost always male."

Gary glanced to the side, and caught sight of the dollar I'd placed next to the phone. "What's with that?"

"It's the telephone fee."

Gary sighed irritably, scratching his head and giving me a 'you-really-don't-know-anything-do-you?' look. "You spend money like water!"

Frowning, I remembered something. "Fine then. If I shouldn't pay with money, you can have this," I informed him, holding out my dreamcatcher. "It's the boarding fee. I would've hung it in my room, but I have to pay you with something, so…" I waved it around a little. "Take it."

He took it out of my hands and stared at it. "You're not throwing it away to me, are you?"

I huffed in annoyance. If he thought it was so worthless, I would gladly take it back. I liked it, anyway. I tried to grab it, but he held it out of my reach. Drat tall boys.

Gary's interest was suddenly piqued. "What is this?"

"It's a dreamcatcher. It's supposed to catch bad dreams, and then only lovely dreams come through the hole."

He stared at me, or more like gazed through me, like he was trying to imply something. "Do lovely girls also come in?"

I got the joke. This pervert. "Forget it, give it back."

"Finish your food, baby. I need you to eat it for your kidneys."

I blushed when he called me baby, I'd never been called that before. "I told you to stop!"

Gary stared at me, giving me a soft smile and staring at me for a while before exiting.

Staring at the food, I carefully scrutinized it. "Did he put something in here?"

 **Gary**

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself; I wanted to see just how much I could rile her up.

And I still didn't know her name.

As I carried my own half eaten burger to my pool to eat, I hung up the dreamcatcher on the sliding doorpost.

I heard some quick shuffling around, and I turned back to see the girl barricading the door, eliciting a scoff from me. She had no idea that her room had a floor to ceiling window that could be opened as well.

But how the hell could she miss that?

"Wow. After I was nice enough to feed her."

I soon realized why as she brought out a shirt and then pulled her current one over her head, and I widened my eyes in surprise. I knew I should have gone away immediately, but me being the pervert that I was, I decided to stay and check her out to see if her body was nice.

Yeah, that was blunt, but I didn't care.

 _ **-DETAILED DESCRIPTION-**_

She took her jeans off as well and remained in only her underwear. This was perfectly convenient, seeing as she spun around for some reason. Her chest wasn't all that big, more like perky C-cups, and her diminutive waist was nicely defined. However, everything was amplified in her lower body. Her ass was magnificent; large, voluminous, full, round and perky, perfectly bubbly and accentuating the curve of her spine. Her hips were wide and flared out, giving her an hourglass shape and leading down to her shapely, perfectly toned and tanned legs, quite long too, but not to the point that they seemed endless. I wondered how they would look in a miniskirt or shorts; or even better, seeing her in a bikini.

 _ **-DESCRIPTION OVER-**_

Damn. She was smoking hot. How had I not noticed this before?! Probably from the baggy shirt she was wearing before.

She made to remove her bra, and this time I did look away, because that would just be purely evil. When I glanced back, she was wearing a tank top and baggy nightwear trousers.

My face was sweaty now, and I decided that enough was enough. She'd turned off the light and climbed into bed. I sighed as I retreated to bed as well.

 **Leaf**

When I woke up the next morning, my first thought was to call the police as I didn't recognize my unfamiliar surroundings, but I quickly remembered. I'd been taken in by a handsome stranger named Gary.

Funny how it's always the tall, handsome strangers that are the dangerous ones. Was I not cautious enough? Was I being stupid?

I wondered how this large house looked like. I'd only seen the kitchen, living room and guest room.

As I wandered down each hallway, I was more and more awed, taking in the lovely surroundings. Hey, Gary must be pretty neat, all these hallways are spotless.

I reached the back of the house, a sliding door leading to a shimmering blue pool in the morning sunlight. I looked farther to see that the entire house was higher than the rest of the city, and from over the pool, I had a stunning view of the forest.

Sighing, I closed my eyes as I let the fresh wind land on my face. It had been a long time since I was able to completely forget everything.

I stood there, just relaxing, for about fifteen minutes or so.

The wind had entered my hair now, and was crazily whipping different strands around and into my face. I pushed it back slowly, a smile on my face, and as my head turned to the right, I caught sight of a person on a platform above me.

 _Gary._

He was staring intently at me, his expression unreadable. But his eyes, although I was straining my eyes to see them, looked almost star struck. No, _love_ struck. Like he was bedazzled by me.

Oh, how I loved to tease myself.

What was I doing? I hurriedly bowed, my long hair falling into my face again as I pushed it back once more and straightened it again. Gary just stood there, not saying a word.

We had this staring contest for a loooooooooooong time, until I got fed up and went back inside.

 **I know, crappy ending. But I promise that the next one will be better. Sorry that I also haven't updated in a long time, too. Again, no promises about when the next update will be. I do have academics and sports and university applications to sort out, so… yeah.**

 **Bye for now. - Barbella**


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